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en-MYTerengganu FA 1 LionsXII 2: Singaporeans clinch top spotSuper-subs Sufian Anuar and Christopher van Huizen were heroes on Wednesday night as LionsXII secured a Malaysia Cup quarter-final berth with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Terengganu FA.Kenneth Tanhttps://www.fourfourtwo.com/my/news/terengganu-fa-1-lionsxii-2-singaporeans-clinch-top-spot
LionsXII first-choice striker Khairul Amri was deemed fit enough to earn a spot in the starting 11 following his three-week layoff, but was forced off 10 minutes into the game after aggravating his hamstring injury.
Sufian came on to replace him, but it was Terengganu who drew first blood on 15 minutes in front of their vociferous fans at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium.
Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, who was making his return from a three-match suspension, skinned both Zulfahmi Arifin and Shakir Hamzah on the right byline before cutting it back for young Diyaulrahman Hasry to finish superbly past LionsXII goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud.
The visitors roared back with an instant reply though, restoring parity just a minute later through a determined Sufian.
The leather fell kindly to Sufian in the box after Zubir Azmi had failed to deal with Hafiz Sujad’s cross and the striker proceeded to lash a neat effort beyond Terengganu custodian Sharbinee Allawee for his first goal of the season.
The rain was beginning to pour down in Kuala Terengganu as Sufian nearly scored a second minutes later, with Sharbinee leaping well to tip over the substitute’s cheeky flick from Zulfahmi Arifin’s corner.
The home side nearly reclaimed their lead six minutes after the restart, with Ismail Faruqi seeing his close-range snapshot crash off the crossbar with Izwan beaten.
The match was unfortunately halted on the hour mark due to the treacherous conditions and only resumed after a 25-minute delay.
Knowing that they need a win of two goals or more to progress into the last eight, the Turtles piled on the pressure in the final 30 minutes but there was no way past a sturdy LionsXII backline led by Madhu Mohana.
The visitors were happy to hit on the break with Faris Ramli’s ambitious lob from just inside the Terengganu half looking destined for goal, but Sharbinee got back in time to tip the effort wide.
That was the 23-year-old winger’s last piece of action as LionsXII coach Fandi Ahmad chose to throw on the fresh legs of Van Huizen.
It proved to be an inspired move as the youngster grabbed the winner with just two minutes to go.
The former Tampines Rovers starlet first saw his thunderous volley parried by Sharbinee, before scampering on to Sufian’s follow-up and sliding home gleefully from an acute angle at the far post.
That was enough for the LionsXII to seal all three points and finish top of Group A – setting up a two-legged quarter-final affair with Pahang FA who finished second in Group D.
Photo: Football Association of Singapore
news_articleThu, 05 Nov 2015 03:04:21 +0000Zee Ko476238 at https://www.fourfourtwo.comSufian dedicates hat-trick to first childLionsXII man-of-the-moment Sufian Anuar has dedicated his goals on Tuesday night to his soon-to-be-born first child.Kenneth Tanhttps://www.fourfourtwo.com/my/news/sufian-dedicates-hat-trick-first-child
The striker scored a late treble to seal a morale-boosting 4-1 win against Pahang, lifting the reigning Malaysian Super League (MSL) champions within four points of the top.
Keen-eyed spectators would have noticed his Bebeto-esque rocking baby celebrations, as well as the sight of him tucking the match ball under his shirt at the final whistle.
“My wife is now six months into pregnancy,” Sufian told FourFourTwoa day after the game.
“Thus I dedicated the hat-trick to her and this is going to be our first child.
"Hopefully this can be a good luck charm for me!”
Pahang had taken an early lead on the night, but the hosts found an equaliser through ever-dependable captain Safuwan Baharudin before the break.
Just as the tie looked to be heading for a draw, up popped unlikely hero Sufian as he scored three quickfire goals in the final 15 minutes.
These three goals were the 26-year-old's first of the 2014 MSL season, and there was a palpable look of relief at breaking his duck as he sprinted towards the fans following each of the goals.
“Of course I feel very happy lah!” Sufian said.
“It’s like… How to say? It’s like God wants to give it to you.
"After all, you don’t get a hat-trick that often! At the same time, I also want to be humble about this.”
There was admittedly an element of fortune in each of his three goals, but the man himself didn't seem too fussed.
“I think luck definitely played a part,” he said.
“It just doesn’t happen every day that the ball bounce and you just have to follow up in front of goal.”
Having opened his accounts, Sufian hopes to secure a starting spot in the upcoming games but revealed that he is not adverse to reprising the role of ‘Super Sub'.
“Of course I will prefer to start but I don’t mind other players starting,” he said.
“I always strive to come in and give my 100 percent.
"Even for it’s for just 10 minutes, I will let my boots do the talking.”
The LionsXII will next travel away to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to take second-placed Selangor FA this Saturday and Sufian wants his side to build on the win against Pahang.
“It’s very important to stay consistent from now on,” he said.
“There’ll be ups and downs throughout the season, but we will take one game at a time.
"Facing Selangor will of course be tough, but I believe we will be able to match them.”
news_articleThu, 17 Apr 2014 10:06:49 +0000Seng-Foo Lee155549 at https://www.fourfourtwo.com